We finally get to London!

So we finally get to London!
After our day adventuring around the Salisbury area we went back to Overton for a good night's rest. The next morning we got up packed our bags, had a quick cup of tea, and said thank you and goodbye to David & Penny their wonderful hospitality. David was nice enough to give us a ride to the train station and we were off to London.

After about a hour and a half we arrived in London's Charing Cross station, right in the middle of central London. Our friend from a previous Route 66 tour, Norman works in downtown london and was nice enough to meet us at the station and let us store the crazy humans bags somewhere while we walked around to see the town.

After dropping our bags off at Normans' office it was time to go for a walk around Central London for a few hours. Our first stop was Trafalgar Square, right in front of the National Gallery, and had some really neat statues, fountains and lots of silly humans walking around.

See what I mean, the strange and silly humans were everywhere! I wanted to go for a quick dip in the pond to look for fish, but Gary informed me that it was a fountain, and that there weren't any fish in there. I pondered for quite a while why these humans would make such a nice pond in the middle of the city but not put any fish in it! These English humans are supposed to like Fish & Chips, so where do they get the fish?

I still didn't believe Gary, so we went down to the pond for a closer look! The statues in the pond were spitting out the water, so it must not be good enough to keep fish in. The only thing that looked like a fish was the Dolphin behind the human statue, and it was spitting out the water too, so this was pretty good proof that there must have been something wrong with the water!

On the other end of the square there was another statue, this one was of a lion, and boy was it really big. I don't think that a real Lion is this big, if it was I think the humans would have a real problem on their hands. It was neat though, and after a quick picture we were off again to adventure around!

Gary's friend Norman gave him directions on where to go to see things that he really wanted to see. The first was the guilded gates to one of the royal parks just down the road from Trafalgar Square. It was nice to see that the humans were smart enough to leave themselves some room to run around in that wasn't paved over. This is the entrance to St. James Park, and we found out later that it also was once the burial place for Lepers…strange humans! It was just accross the street from one of the most famous places in England, Buckingham Palace.

It too had a big, guilded fence around it, and lots of police and security people. I decided that it would probably be a good idea to behave myself, I didn't want to get in any trouble (like I did in Oklahoma and New Mexico…) in a strange country.

I asked Gary what the silly humans did here, and he said it was the home of the British Royals. I really didn't understand until he explained that they were Monarchs. After a bit of confusion I finally understood and wondered why they needed such a big house! Gary said it was because they were very important, and at one time used to be the ones who ran the country.

They had a lot of security people everywhere. These must be some very special Monarchs to have all these guards keeping them safe.

I wanted to go in and see these really important Monarchs, but the man at the gate wouldn't let us go in. I then came to the conclusion that the big fence wasn't there to keep these Monarchs in, but the rest of the people out! I asked Gary why they wouldn't let us go see the butterflies, he just giggled a bit and explained that these Monarchs weren't the pretty Orange butterflies we have back home, but a family of silly humans. Now things were beginning to make more sense to me, I knew these humans were silly and I guess letting a family of butterflies run the country would be extremely silly, even for them!

I still wanted to see these really important humans, but Gary said that all we could do is just stand around a while to see if they came outside. It was raining a bit, and it began to rain even more, Gary said these humans really don't like the rain so we finally gave up on the idea and decided we had better get back to sightseeing

So we got back to walking, and we went through the park along the lake. Now this was a proper lake and there were even fish in it too. I asked Gary if I could do a bit of fishing here, but he said that it was a Royal park, and that the fish here were just for looking at…extremely silly humans! There were Ducks, and Swans around too, and Gary said not to get any ideas about them either, and that they were just for looking at too.

At the other end of the park there were some humans sitting on top of horses just standing there doing nothing…in the rain! When I asked Gary why they were on horses in the middle of a big city where a car would be much better, he said that they were there because of a tradition.

When I saked what the tradition was, he said that this place is where the Royal guards are stationed and meant to be the dividing place between the Royal Monarchs (not the butterflies) and the modern government.

I found a nice place to sit down while Gary took some pictures of the silly humans on their horses, doing nothing but standing around in the rain.

There seemed to be two different types of silly humans on horses, some of them in red uniforms, and some in black. When I asked Gary why this was he said it was to represent a balance of power between the two forms of government.

I just sat around wondering why they didn't have enough sense to get out of the rain, but then realized that we were getting rained on as well.

At least this fellow was lucky enough to have a place to get out of the rain! After a couple more pictures it was time to go see more. So we walked down the road a bit to the home of the English modern government, the Parliment and House of Lords.

The first thing we saw was a really big tower with a clock at the top. Gary said it was called the East tower and there was a really famous and important bell on the inside of it called "Big Ben"…leave it to the silly humans to give a bell a name!

This is the Houses of Parliment and the House of Lords. Gary explained to me that this is where the humans now run the country from. He also explained that the Monarchs no longer ran things, but were kept around for the ceremonial events…and to distract other silly humans with their extremely silly behavior. I guess it was so they wouldn't get bored, and would have something to talk about while it was raining outside (which seems to be all the time here).

Here's a good look at it from the other end, and a good view of the Thames river that goes through the center of London. Gary said that the reason London is here is because of the river, ant this used to be a very important place for trading things with other humans…including fish.

It's a really big building too, and really pointy and pretty! We then hopped on a bus and went up the road a long way to go see another cathedral. We went for a nice ride and ended up at St. Paul's Cathedral, which has been around for almost four hundred years. A really big place, we wanted to go inside and see what it looked like, but the humans at the door wanted a lot of money just to go inside. Since Gary is a bit on the poor side already and everything is double the price for him over here he didn't have enough money for us to go inside.

So we just walked around the outside for a bit, looking at all the neat statues and the building itself.

It was so big that no matter where we went we couldn't get a picture of the whole thing that was any good! Since we couldn't go in and we had walked around it completely, it was time to go to the next thing on Gary's list. So we walked along the Thames riverwalk toward our next destination, the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.

We stopped for a brief rest break while on the way, we (well mostly Gary, he tends to carry me all the time) had already done a lot of walking today and was getting a little tired. Here's a good picture of the Tower Bridge from the walk along the Thames.

After Gary was sufficently rested we continued until we came to the Tower of London. This is a really famous place, and has been around for about a thousand Years. The humans have used it fo a variety of different things. It used to be the home of the Monarchs before they all moved to Buckingham palace. It has also been used as a Fortress, Prison where they tortured and executed other humans, a Zoo, Armoury, place to keep and Make money (something these humans are still obsessed with), public records office, Observatory and where the silly humans keep the "Crown Jewels".

It's a really big place, but we didn't have the time to go in and see it.

It's also the home of a bunch of Ravens, and the silly humans believe that if the Ravens ever leave the Tower of London that the country will fail. So they have someone whose job is to look after these birds and make sure that they stay and are happy there.

Since we didn't have either the time or the money to get in we just walked around the outside (again) before we set off to walk across the Tower Bridge.

Gary said that the Tower Bridge was probably one the most important landmarks in London and that we had to walk across it.

They painted all of the metal on the bridge a very pretty blue color. We stopped several times while walking across it to take some pictures.

It's a big Bridge, but not nearly as big as my favorite bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge in California. Why do these silly humans paint these bridges such bright colors?

The neat thing about this bridge is that it has two towers on either side where it splits apart so big boats can go under it.

The Golden Gate Bridge doesn't split apart like this one does, which is why it's so important. Plus it's really pretty too!

The towers on either side are really tall too!

The humans really spent a lot of time to make sure it was a good bridge, and they made it out of really big pieces of stone and steel to make sure it lasted a long time!

It's a good thing to go see in London, different than any other bridge I've ever seen.

After walking across it, we continued along the Thames river stopping occasionally to take some more pictures.

Just about the time we got across it the sun began to go down, and we were at a really big ferris wheel called "The London Eye". It was a huge ride and went really slow, and looked neat all lit up a pretty blue color. This was the end of our first day walking around London and it was almost time to go meet up with Gary's friends to spend the night with.

Before we went though, we were both really tired from our busy day and just had to sit down again for a rest before we met up with Gary's friends. It had been a great day (except for all the rain that never seems to stop here), and we were coming back tomorrow to see more.
Now it was time for a good dinner and a good night's rest.
Check back soon as the story continues…

Lima – A Latin American Gourmet Wonderland

The Peruvian capital is often shunned by travelers as a concrete jungle – a blemish on the otherwise pimple free face of Peru – and considered by many nothing more than a transitory stopover en route to otherwise more interesting destinations in the country. Sadly these travelers miss out on the truly extraordinary attributes the city has on offer – especially the cuisine. With a startling array of the diverse and delicious, Lima is often referred to as the Gourmet Capital of Latin America.

Peruvian cuisine incorporates a seriously wide variety of different elements and influences. The tropical climate gives the country a great assortment of fresh fruit, herbs, and vegetables. The potato originated under the Inca culture and over 200 different varieties are found in the country. Fish stocks along the coast are said to be some of the richest to be found anywhere – while cattle, poultry, and pig farming is big business in the interior. Culinary influences range from a history riddled with the fusion of many different cultures – the result of course being a mixture of the very best each of these cultures has to offer. African, Asian, and European influences combined with the traditional Amerindian cuisine to produce some truly exquisite dishes in the country – and nowhere is this fusion of cuisine more pronounced, and no where is it as delicious, as it is in Lima.

With some friends at the spectacular "La Mar "Restaurant in Miraflores

Advice on a few dishes. Lunch should, as a rule, be reserved for Ceviche and Tiradito. Both are served widely across South America – but in Lima they just seem to taste better. Lima’s Ceviche basically consists of raw diced fish flesh (generally sole) cured in lime juice and served with red raw onion and some chilli. Tiradito is pretty much the same dish but with a little difference. Instead of onions, the cured fish is placed in a spicy cream sauce. Both are hauntingly delicious, full of flavour, and easily available across Lima.

Other exceptional dishes include Rocotto Relleno – a hollowed out pepper filled with a meaty mix (very spicy), Aji de Gallina – a chicken and rice curry, Arroz con mariscos – Rice with seafood, Lomo Saltado – Fillet strips stir fried with fresh vegetable rice and chips, Chifa – Peruvian Chinese fusion, and Anticuchos del Corazon – brochettes of ox heart served with a spicy sauce.

My Desert Island all Time Top Five Lima Restaurants

Astrid y Gaston
Quite often referred to as the best restaurant in Latin America, Astrid y Gaston never fails to impress. Owned by Gaston Acurio, a Cordon Bleu trained chef, and his French wife, Astrid, this restaurant is the best restaurant in Lima, and is well-known in South America. The food is outstanding and the wine selection is the best to be found in Peru.

Rodrigo
Restaurant Rodrigo is an elegant and sophisticated joint with an old age European Flair and great interior decorating. Owned and run by Chef Rodrigo Conroy, dishes are simple and elegant and are inspired by Mediterranean and Basque traditions.

Sonia
The humble Sonia Cevicheria is thought by mean to be the best cevicheria in town. Sonia has been preparing the fish her husband – a fisherman – has been catching daily for over 30 years. Today's restaurant, owned by the same family of fishers, is an upgraded version of the original, attracting a vast clientele that ranges from gourmets to simple seafood devotees.

La Gloria
La Gloria is an elegant restaurant located in the heart of Miraflores. With a homely feel the restaurant provides exquisite dishes at reasonable prices. With a Mediterranean feel – the dishes are fused with a variety of delicious local cuisine. The wine selection is superb.

La Mar
La Mar is a cevicheria owned by Gaton Arcurio of Astrid y Gaston and has a number of delightful ceviche and tiradito options. The haute-cuisine creations include Peruvian seafood wonders fused with sushi and other culinary traditions. The restaurant is very popular and one needs to arrive early in order to avoid the queue.

If you're in Lima I would really recommend any one of these fine places. If anyone is interested, CAT offers a great Fine Cuisine and Museums of Lima Tour. Until the next time, happy traveling.

Bart
http://www.cat-travel.com/

Still wasting time in England…and having a great time!

After stopping to see the symbols the crazy humans have carved in the hills, we got back on the road to see some more of the local area's attractions. We drove around for a bit down really pretty country roads to a really old castle on top of a hill. Old Wardour Castle, where parts of " Robin Hood Prince of thieves" was filmed. A really unusual 5 sided design makes the castle one of a kind, and the grounds are very well looked after. But unfortunately we were there during the slow season so the grounds were closed. So we were only able to walk around the outside, but very pretty and surrounded by nice woods, almost like being back home in the mountains!

It's a very pretty place, too bad we couldn't get inside for a better look around!

I can see why they used it in the movie.
Maybe we'll get a chance to see it better if we go back next year!
After our brief stop to look at the neat castle we continued on our way to a local landmark, Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset!

It Doesn't look like it from here but it's quite a steep road!

After our brief stop to look at the neat castle we continued on our way to a local landmark, Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset! This is where the Hovis bread company filmed one of the most popular commercials in English television history. In the commercial it's supposed to be somewhere in Northern England, but in fact it's in the very southern part of England. Just another example of how these silly humans make one place look like another. Here's the Commercial, so you know what I'm talking about.



So after we walked around a bit we stopped at the top of the hill to have a lovely Cream Tea in a nice little cafe at the top of the road, Delicious! After our little snack it was back to the car and off to another local landmark.

Salisbury Cathedral!

It's a very neat place to visit, and the home to one of the last remaining copies of the Magna Carta. We spent a while walking around the interior, looking at all the beautiful art and all the history everywhere. Gary was really interested in seeing that Magna Carta thing, and spent a lot of time looking at it and trying to read it (his Latin wasn't as good as it was when he was in college)!

It's a really beautiful place to walk around, and you can't really get an idea of how big it really is on the inside from the pictures Gary took. He did try however, but there was so much we just didn't have the time to see everything and take pictures too.

This place was really huge!

After our walk around the cathedral and the grounds, we walked around the city center until it was time to meet everyone else from previous tours for a dinner and a well deserved pint of great English Beer. Well that's about all for now, Gary is complaining about having to do all the typing while I just sit here and dictate! We'll continue the rest of the story soon!